This trilogy really that bad?

[EdwardTheMartyr]

From what I've seen, it looks pretty interesting. Is it the gameplay everybody hated or the story?

[Leenewbe]

i rewatched the cutscenes on yt recently and it was so much more enjoyable then replaying it, 13-2 apparently improved on a lot of what was wrong with 13 but i haven't got around to it yet as i haven't plated 13.

[Zircon_Lotus]

People mostly complained about XIII being too linear, and it really is in the first half of the story. Something that bothered my a little during this part is that the gameplay is "incomplete", since you only have 2 party members instead of 3.

To me XIII was one of the best games I played this decade. XIII-2 was unnecessary and I didnt like as much. Lightning Returns to me was better than the second, but feels like a complete different game and world, and had graphic issues that bothered me deeply. 

I think the trilogy gets unnecessary hate, people bandwagon into this too much. I can understand why someone can dislike this, but the critics are usualy too harsh. But they shouldnt have released the other 2, only the first would have been enough. 

[EdwardTheMartyr]

7 minutes ago, Zircon_Lotus said:

People mostly complained about XIII being too linear, and it really is in the first half of the story. Something that bothered my a little during this part is that the gameplay is "incomplete", since you only have 2 party members instead of 3.

To me XIII was one of the best games I played this decade. XIII-2 was unnecessary and I didnt like as much. Lightning Returns to me was better than the second, but feels like a complete different game and world, and had graphic issues that bothered me deeply. 

I think the trilogy gets unnecessary hate, people bandwagon into this too much. I can understand why someone can dislike this, but the critics are usualy too harsh. But they shouldnt have released the other 2, only the first would have been enough. 

Is it super repetitive?

[DaivRules]

I enjoyed the first one when I played. The strategies took me a while to finally get a hold of and I’m willing to bet that’s what turned a lot of people off of the gameplay. 
 

As said above, I watched all the cut scenes stitched together on YouTube and because the pacing is sped up, becomes a much more enjoyable presentation. 

[Kristycism]

I personally enjoyed XIII. There's no single aspect of it that it does better than previous entries, imo, but that doesn't mean it's bad at all, just not as good in some aspects as other games in the series.

 

The story is quite good, and it's got a few unexpected twists that keep you interested in the narrative. The characters were quite bland, though, and some of them are downright unlikable. The gameplay is quite good in some aspects (the roles system is good once you get into it, and if you don't manage it properly you can lose pretty easily), but because you fully recover after every battle, and losing just sets you back to the start of the battle, there's no risk so it ends up too easy.

 

XIII-2 was unnecessary and really bad though, imo. The gameplay is a bit more fun, but the story is just a mess. Haven't played LR because of how much I hated XIII-2, but apparently the gameplay is even better there but the story is a waste of time.

[sepheroithisgod]

I've played all 3 and have to say the trilogy isn't bad by any means. I think FF13 just isn't that great of a Final Fantasy, but its still a good RPG.

[PSXtreme_]

The problem with XIII is that it's not FF...it's a movie of FF Games with some button presses mixed in for entertainment...

 

in other words, it's EXACTLY what the people that hadn't played any FF game prior to IX wanted...

[EdwardTheMartyr]

5 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

I've played all 3 and have to say the trilogy isn't bad by any means. I think FF13 just isn't that great of a Final Fantasy, but its still a good RPG.

Would you say 8, 9, X, X-2, and XV are less grindy for the platinum?

[B1rvine]

Every Final Fantasy game, for the most part, are different experiences and relatively unique. This series is no different, even each game feels different. Most people get attached to their "favorite" Final Fantasy game, and start finding they dislike a few sequels ahead of the first they played. Since all three of these are different, you'll usually find people dislike part, or all, of the trilogy. I've only played XIII and XIII-2, but I found both slightly above average.

 

Edit: They're all equally grindy.  FF7-9 may be slightly less, due to the speed up in-game cheats, but normally would be about as grindy.

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by B1rvine

[sepheroithisgod]

4 minutes ago, EdwardTheMartyr said:

Would you say 8, 9, X, X-2, and XV are less grindy for the platinum?

8, 9, and 15 are less grindy, but 10 and 10-2 are equal to 13.

[majob]

I started the series with VII but I've played them all and XIII isn't the worst but for me it was certainly near the bottom. The story was pretty bad, even by JRPG standards, most of the characters are flat, the combat is almost practically on rails in terms of the amount of input needed on your part, ect. I've heard the sequels make improvements but I've never gotten around to playing them

[Zircon_Lotus]

18 minutes ago, EdwardTheMartyr said:

Is it super repetitive?

It's not repetitive, it's slow. During the first part you will be in linear maps (you cant return to previous areas). You will watch many cutscenes in which you will know the characters, their background, motives, and of course you will have regular battles and bosses at the end of the chapters. When I fought with 3 party members I remember thinking that the game was better and faster. 

 

 

10 minutes ago, EdwardTheMartyr said:

Would you say 8, 9, X, X-2, and XV are less grindy for the platinum?

XV is a medium plat, X is a really long and boring grinding, and X-2 seems similar. When I finished XIII my game time was around 120h, FFX surpassed this. 

[damon8r351]

All three games are fantastic, I highly recommend them if you can find them for a good price.

[RevengeancePrime]

I found XIII and XIII-2 to be very enjoyable. Haven't played much of Lightning Returns yet. I feel like XIII didn't need a sequel or they could have taken XIII and fleshed it out more over the course of two, possibly three games. The sequels to XIII feel kind of unnecessary and disjointed.

 

In terms of combat, XIII felt too simplistic most of the time. I feel like XIII-2 improved on that a lot. I also didn't like that the sequels pretty much got rid of having a full party. Something I personally love about RPGs is having a party of characters you get to know, which XIII-2 and Lightning Returns didn't really have.

[LucianaRosethorn]

The Final Fantasy XIII series are my favourite games of all time so no I don't think they're bad, I think people hate on it just because it was so different compared to the rest of the series just like how people don't like X or XII because it took a different route and you either like it or you don't. I wonder how so many people like VII but then you need to remember it's a lot of people's first game or Final Fantasy in general so a lot of memories more than anything, not because there's anything special to it. So I would say don't ever touch it since it's my second least favourite, nothing could beat XV in worst game possible. 

 

Anyway, the combat is great. I think the paradigm works especially well, no other game has done something similar (not what I played) and it's a lot more fun or complicated than people give it credit. A lot will say you can just mash the auto button in which is true up to a point, once you reach Gran Pulse (which is near the end of the game but also a good chunk of your time) you'll be needing to actually learn it properly. It's fun and it's different and it's hard to learn when going to fight enemies which require quick switching and planning. 

 

Story is perfectly fine, not sure why so many people hate it or maybe don't understand it to its full extent. It's a game which you get more pleasure out of the more times you replay it, no way you can understand the story from one playthroughs and not read all the logs in the menus. I will admit the characters aren't that great but let's compare it to VII for an example, those characters aren't anything special nor is the story. Yet people don't say that be because they enjoy it which is why I think it's important to hear both sides. 

 

FFXIII-2 is very similar but I think it's more of the baby version since it's a lot more simple and not as long but still feels that hole if you want more of the same thing. I didn't find the story that great and due to it being time travel it really fucked up which Lightning Returns has to fix, which I hate since something happens and it makes it kinda pointless without saying too much. It does add some new mechanics such as being able to control mosters, going through time but only the future from areas from XIII, some of the paradox bosses can be hard but nothing challenging, this game is purely made for the fans I would say but I know some people who don't enjoy XIII do enjoy this one. 

 

Lightning Returns is the most different from the lot and as much as I love this one like the rest it took me awhile to actually understand everything since it was so different. The story isnt great in this one, I can accept it but nothing more. As I said before, once time travel gets involved it all goes down hill and it did in that department. There are only four areas in the game, no more and no they don't get very exciting. The game is about repeating each area to find new missions and new people to talk to as the days go by, it's hard to explain but it can get boring quickly if you aren't enjoying it. The battle system is similar but at the same time it isn't, the concept is there but it's more like X-2 due to dressing up lighting which gives her new abilities. It's very fun to do and you can customise it a lot though when going for 100% you will need particular outfits. Also in this game you can fail but it does have a NG+ feature in which things carry over meaning you can speed past any other playthrough which is adviced so you get more stats to fight the final monster. Anyway, there isn't much more to this game but its an okay way to finish up the story. 

 

So I would recommend checking out FFXIII and if you like it then look into the rest, no point in worrying about them if you didn't like the first one. The grind isn't that bad, you just have RNG involved while grinding money. It's about 60-100 hours depending on if you know what you're doing and the RNG but that's only a small part. XIII-2 is a lot easier and nothing is that hard to do, I think it only takes about 50 or even less at most for a new person and much shorter for those who know what to do. Lightning Returns I can't remember how long it takes but it depends how many playthroughs you do so it varies. 

[BeautifulTorment]

The endgame of XIII is fun, too bad you have to sit through such an absolutrly horrid story/chapter progression in order to get there. Lightning is a badass but the rest of the characters are the worst of any FF I've played.

[Priere]

The trilogy is full of flaws that can be enjoyed regardless of them if the person chooses to, and that's the most simple form of explaining it without shitting on it or praising it. I still would like to see it get ported to PS4, and i stand by that.

Edited December 24, 2019 by YaoiGod

[Guest]

Naw bruh. XV is the worst. I love my XIII.

[KaKrackle]

Utter wank. Avoid.

[KingGuy420]

In defence of 13-2 and Lightning Returns, the stories were mediocre at best, but they had some of my favorite gameplay in the series and that alone made them worth it for me.

 

13-2 also did something that no FF has done in decades, where it was like...

 

-We need the five golden stones

-Well where are they?

-What? You want me to hold your hand too? Go fuckin find them.

 

I was so excited when I saw that. I was always bummed when FF drop that ideal of exploration.

[AFRising]

It's a fine trilogy, but its storyline is all over the place at times and some gameplay changes from one game to another can put some people off. Plus some main characters aren't really that likeable, so to be forced to play as them for the majority of the time can be annoying.

 

Trophy-wise, FFXIII and FFXIII-2 are quite grindy; Lightning Returns is shorter and more to the point.

[Crispy_Oglop]

I wasn't a huge fan FF XIII, none of the characters really resonated with me and the fact that they kinda drop you into the story and expect you to instantly get all of the terms and wording switched me off a bit. I didn't mind the linear nature of it to be honest, I just think that they could have done a whole lot more with the world and the story. The platinum was also a pain in the ass for me to get. I usually judge a large part of the quality of a Final Fantasy game by it's villains/threats and how memorable they are and I can't even remember the villain/threat from FFXIII properly. It was just a really underwhelming entry. I liked the battle system they had going in this one though.

 

I had waaaay more fun overall with FFXIII-2. The protagonists were more engaging and the gameplay was really fun. I liked the time travel elements of it too which added an interesting spin on how you interacted with the environment. The story again though was a bit of a hot mess, an enjoyable mess, but a mess all the same.

 

I also had fun with Lightning Returns which pretty much had a similar dynamic to that of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, where time reset continuously. It really added some interesting planning mechanics to how you approached each day before the reset. It was a bit of a gameplay shift more towards action RPG territory too which I really like (even though i love turn-based as a default).

If you were thinking of getting into the trilogy, to be honest, you could probably just skip the first one and still not have too much of a struggle to follow along with the sequels.

 

Edit: Just to add, I have friends who swear by FFXIII and they do make compelling and interesting arguments for it as a viable entry into the franchise (which I dig). These are mainly just my opinions on the trilogy, you might love them all equally and power to you if you do  

Edited December 25, 2019 by Crispy_Oglop

[Undead Wolf]

The battle system in FFXIII and FFXIII-2 is just boring, only requiring a minimal amount of input for most of the fights in those games. Executing a Paradigm Shift every now and again before going back to auto attacks doesn't make for satisfying combat at all. The first game also railroads you for the first 20-30 hours, forcing you to play as certain characters, while the game world is nothing more than a pretty-looking corridor. Not great for a JRPG/FF game... The story in the first game is fine I guess, but it really goes off the deep end in the sequels when it starts introducing time travel and whatever else. I had no idea what was going on by the third game, and the ending of Lighting Returns was one of the biggest "WTF!?" moments I can remember having in a game (not in a good way). As far as I'm concerned, there are only a few likable characters in the whole trilogy (my boy Sazh being one of them). Lightning is one of the most bland main characters I've ever seen in a JRPG.

 

I recently went back to FFXIII and got a ways into it (I think Chapter 10 or something). I don't *hate* the game, but it's not very enjoyable either. I have a hard time justifying my time spent with it when there's much better things I could be playing. I'm going to try and slog my way through the trilogy again during 2020. I definitely wouldn't recommend these games to anyone, that's for sure. 

[SnowxSakura]

Personally from what I've played of the franchise, 13 is by far the worst final fantasy game, with mediocre writing, obnoxious characters, and pretty hammy voice acting from some of the characters. Factored in with things like linear pathways until the latter half of the game, no towns to interact with makes it not that fun to play. On my second playthrough after not touching it in over 6 years I was skipping every cutscene due to just how cringy the lines are. The crystarium is a major upgrade over the sphere grid due to functionality

 

13-2 is a step up from a lot of the problems that 13 created, it brings in newer mechanics like capturing monsters and letting you battle alongside them, alongside a time traveling mechanic. The story still is pretty mediocre, but the characters this time around weren't as bad. I would probably recommend this game.

 

No comment on lightning returns, have only played it for about 20 minutes